God can and will use ANYTHING to speak to our hearts. Join me this week as I share one of His creepy crawley visual aids!
A Defeated Foe
And the God of peace will soon crush Satan; He will crush him underneath your feet!Romans 16:20
Watching Darin finesse a snake out from under our steps was quite a show. He started with a broom handle and then added the hoe for leverage. It was mesmerizing … I couldn’t stand to watch but I couldn’t look away either! He didn’t even have to ask what I wanted him to do with it … kill it!
The hoe struck precisely behind its head and as soon as I heard the plink of metal meeting concrete, I felt certain that the battle was over. But was it? I couldn’t believe my eyes … That reptile continued to coil, constrict and even strike! My fear and anxiety didn’t lessen one iota even though I witnessed its head being severed from its body except for one thin piece of skin. For all practical purposes, this snake was dead, but my mind had yet to notify my emotions of its new status!
It occurred to me that it’s much like this in the spiritual realm. Jesus defeated Satan at Calvary; He gave the deathblow to the head, but he’s still writhing around causing trouble until the day when he is literally cast into the lake of fire. Right now, he’s like a roaring lion, seeking to devour and destroy those who love Jesus. He roars fiercely but he’s toothless! He can cause us problems in the here and now, but his there and then is as good as done! My question is this: do we live like we have a DEFEATED foe?
When Darin asked for the axe so he could finish the job, I was still squirming and shrieking, but I had to intentionally say to myself, “He is dead. He cannot hurt me. My husband is holding both ends of this dead reptile and he can do nothing to me.” That may not sound like much, but it was hard mental and emotional work to bring my fears and anxiety into submission to the truth.
Oh, dear Sister, we do still live behind enemy lines, but we must live in light of truth and we find that truth in the Word of God. We will endure difficulties; we must choose to endure hardship; and we cannot shrink back when disappointment, fear or persecution comes. We must fix our eyes on Jesus and remember that the day is coming when God will crush Satan underneath our feet, and the roaring lion will be no more.
From my heart to yours,
Tami